Jersey Girl
by SunsetsOnBattlefields
Summary: Its the summer vacation and Brett's spending it in Rumson, New Jersey. She thought it was going to be a normal summer but she was wrong. Sebastian's going to make sure its every bit as interesting as he can.
1. Chapter 1

The birds woke me. Groggily and slowly I opened one eye after the other and took in my surroundings. The room was blue, the same colour as Jeremiah's room at St Lucius. God, why was I thinking of him after we'd split six months ago? I sprang up. Oww, my head throbbed. Instantly I began to think. Where was I? How much did I drink last night? What was I doing lying on a bed that I didn't recognise?

I looked down at the floor. A tall boy with almost jet black hair and an olive complexion was lying face down on the shag-pile rug. Realisation dawned on my and I sighed in relief. I was lying on Sebastian's bed. I looked down at myself. God, my purple Fendi maxi-dress was wrinkled, long past fashionable. As quickly as I could I slipped on my shoes, grabbed my Michael Kors bag and quietly left the house.

Out of Sebastian's house I checked my cell, it was half five in the morning. Although I knew I was outside Sebastian's house I didn't know whereabouts in Jersey I was. The paperboy across the road saw me and waved. "Um, can you tell me where I am?" I blurted out. "Sure, it's Rhine street" was the reply. Rhine street? That was only a few blocks from my tacky McMansion. "Thank you so much" I gushed and set off.

I got home at just gone six and ran straight to the shower. I walked cautiously past mom and dad's door. The lilting snores assured me they were asleep, and in Bree's room it was just the same. My sister and her fiancé Willy must have tired themselves out planning the wedding until the early hours of this morning. After my shower I curled up in my bed and drifted into a quiet sleep.

My cell woke me up at around nine. It was a text:

From: Sebastian  
To: Brett  
You left without saying goodbye. Was I really that appalling last night? I'm sure you didn't think I was bad at the time. In fact, I KNOW you didn't think I was bad. You loved it :) X


	2. Chapter 2

Panic ran through me. What did we do last night? All I could remember was drinking my weight in cheap red wine the same colour as my hair. I was sure I'd just crashed out on his bed, but I didn't know. I quickly replied:

From: Brett  
To: Sebastian  
What did we do last night?!

A minute later I got a reply:

From: Sebastian  
To: Brett  
Everything ;P…

A few seconds later I got another text:

From: Sebastian  
To: Brett  
Nah, joking babe. I'll come round later to explain. X

Phew, so he was joking. That was good, but he was coming over again. Since the thanksgiving break we'd seen each other around Waverly a lot more that I'd planned. I'd just wanted to hang out with Jenny and Callie, talking and trying to get over Jeremiah but Mrs Horniman still wanted me to tutor Sebastian. I mean, sometimes the tutoring sessions were fun but I really didn't want to get involved with guys in ANY way for a while. Friends or otherwise.

I went downstairs half an hour later in one of Jeremiah's old football shirts I'd never really thought of giving back and some long thick socks. Surprisingly Willy was sat at the breakfast bar drinking filter coffee. He looked as rough as I felt, or at least I hoped I didn't look rough. "Morning," I said. Willy was beginning to grow on me since thanksgiving. "Hey," he replied "Before you say anything, I KNOW I look god-awful. My mom wants a whole new table at the wedding for her and dad's friends at the country club. I told her the venue was really small but I don't think she cares. Anyway, want some coffee?" "No thanks, I'm just getting some water." I told him. "Oh okay, cool. By the way, that guy from thanksgiving, Simon?" he began "Oh, Sebastian" I corrected him. "Yeah, well he came over about ten minutes ago. He's waiting for you in the living room." Shit. The whole downstairs is literally open planned. That means he's seen me in what I sleep in. Great(!) I squeaked my thanks and rushed off without my water.

"Hey, wow. You look Hot!" Sebastian called as I hurried past."Makes me wish we HAD done it last night if I'd known you were into the whole as little clothing thing as possible dealio". "Shut up," was all I could think of as I ran up the stairs. In my room I opened my wardrobe and looked for something suitable to wear after last night. I wanted it to be sexy but not too over the top. Knowing Sebastian, he'd planned something but I wasn't sure what. After some careful deliberation I chose my silky green Saks blouse with the short sleeves that made my hair stand out and some military shorts I'd bought in downtown Rhinecliff of the Sunday flea market. I finished the outfit with my gladiator sandals from Loubuitton and fixed my hair and makeup.

I grabbed my bag and went to go down the stairs. On the landing I bumped into Bree. "Hi B" she yawned sleepily. "Hey sis, heard about Willy's mom. Do you have to invite her? She's such a bitch." "Brett, she's his MOM. And she's only a bitch to you. No offense. Its just that whole thanksgiving thing really pissed her off". "Well yeah, it was meant to. But I'm sorry now." I'd beaten myself up about it for a while but it still had me in stiches when I could picture her face when Sebastian walked in. "Seriously Bree, I'm sorry. Tell Willy's mom and dad that I am." And with that I bounded down the stairs.

When I got down Sebastian stood up and before I could even say hello he'd grabbed my hand and marched me straight out of the front door and lead me into his Mustang. I didn't know where I was going, but for now I didn't care.


	3. Chapter 3

"Sorry about that. It's just your house and that guy, they give me the creeps" Sebastian blurted when he pulled out of the drive. "It's alright."I replied. "But, where the hell are you taking me?" "Oh, not far. Just to Wildwood. I remembered you used to love going here and besides, it's about time we went somewhere other than each others houses. And before you ask, no my mom didn't kick me out for getting wasted on her wine. I left before she could." As he said this he took off his aviator sunglasses. Looking at his deep brown eyes, they looked bloodshot and tired. He caught me staring at them and I looked down at what he was wearing. Urgh, the same things as last night. But somehow, he'd managed to make them look better, sexier, smouldering almost. Wait? Did I think Sebastian Valenti looked sexy and smouldering? The same Sebastian Valenti who hadn't graduated, even with my help? I quickly pushed those thoughts to the back of my head and turned to look out of the window.

We pulled up at the beach at around quarter to ten. The journey had seemed long and tedious because we'd only engaged in small talk for about five minutes until we hit the freeway. Neither of us wanted to talk about last night it seemed. We walked in silence onto the beach where Sebastian proceeded to flop on the sand pulling me down. I tripped over his arm and fell onto him. "Oof." I exclaimed. "You're keen. A bit too keen. We haven't even kissed yet" He joked. I rolled off him and sat up, deliberately kicking him as I did so. "Ouch, no need for violence. So, do you want to know what happened last night or not?" he asked. "I won't tell you if you keeping assaulting me. Well, I suppose I wouldn't mind as much if it were sexual assault…" "Okay, I'm sorry. Just tell me what happened" I begged. "Well, not a lot really. We talked about music. You drank shit loads and I thought I'd be a gentleman and drink with you." "Because you're a real gentleman" I said with sarcasm. "If you're going to be like that I won't tell you what to did next." He retorted. "Sorry. I just need to know" I was getting edgy now.

"Well, like I said, we drank and talked about nothing for hours. Then after you're second bottle to yourself you started telling me things I know you'd never have told me sober". "Like what?" I was curious to know what I said, and it came through in my tone. "It's not as interesting as you think really. Brett, I know I shouldn't know any of this, but you told me. About Jeremiah and how that went wrong. About Kara and how that screwed up everything with Jeremiah and about Dalton that teacher. And Brett, he was a jerk, he tried it on with all the girls in my classes. Seriously, don't beat yourself up about him. Brett, you told me everything. I can't assume any details were missing".

I couldn't say anything, I was speechless. Had I really told him all that last night? All that stuff I'd only told half the story of to Jenny. No-one knew everything. But I guess I'd told Sebastian. "God, I felt so awful for you" he carried on. "You started crying and I couldn't stop you. I just held your hand and told you everything would be okay". "You did that?" I asked quietly. Memories of the past year came flooding back. Being undressed on Mr Dalton's boat. Kissing Kara at the WoW meeting in front of everyone. Kissing Kara again in her room. Jeremiah. The way Jeremiah had made me feel when he'd ended it. Last nights tears came back and I couldn't stop them. The beach went into a blur and I fell onto Sebastian's chest shaking silently. "Hey, hey. Stop crying babe. It's going to be alright. I've told you, Dalton was a jerk. And as for Jeremiah, if he ended it with you then he's a fool. And Kara and you are going to be fine. Everyone's experimented before, no-one can judge you for it. No-one". He pulled me closer into his chest.

We sat like this for a few minutes. Eventually, I lifted my head. I was staring straight into Sebastian's beautiful eyes. God, why did I keep thinking he was beautiful today? Was I just emotional? Or was something else happening? The beach had been quiet until now. People started swarming over the dunes onto the sand. Before long we were surrounded by screaming kids and frustrated parents and surfers in their wetsuits. Sebastian let go of me and went back to his car. I grabbed my mirror out of my bag and looked at myself. I thanked God I wasn't one of those people whose eyes got all swollen and puffy after crying. I put the mirror away and slipped off my shoes. A few minutes later Sebastian came back. He'd changed. He had trunks on now and no shirt. I'd never really noticed him like this before. I'd never really had, nor, wanted the chance to. His stomach was muscled and toned to perfection, his arms were gorgeous. I blinked behind my Ray Bans. I was thankful he couldn't see me. He had a body to rival Jeremiah's and that made me feel a little better about things.

He didn't stop next to me; he just dropped his towel and ran into the sea. The waves broke across his thighs and I sighed. Today was turning out a little differently than I'd expected it to. I rolled out Sebastian's towel and laid down on it, taking my blouse off. I was thankful I'd thought to put my bikini on underneath. I closed my eyes and drifted into a daydream.

"Excuse me, I hate to ask but, I think your on my towel," Sebastian was leaning over me dripping salt water onto my stomach. "Urgh, move. You're blocking my sunlight." I retorted. "No. If you get off my towel I won't be in your sunlight will I?" "Make me," I joked. "Fine." Sebastian grabbed my arm and pulled me up. Then, instead of taking his towel he wrapped his arms around me in a huge bear hug, getting me wet. "Eew, get off me!" I said. It came out muffled because my face was buried in his chest. "Say please," he sounded like one of the parents disciplining his child. "Fine, please get off me" I gave in. he let go of me and took his towel. He pulled me down again though so we were sat on the sand laughing. I was leaning on his chest like I had been earlier but this time it was different. I was happy. Suddenly I felt the urge to lean up and kiss him. I resisted this. Why should I give in? As fun as he can be, Sebastian's a jerk sometimes. Besides, I don't want to be tied up in a relationship at the moment. I stood up and put my sandals back on. "I'm just going for a walk a called as I set off".

The walk cleared my head. I walked past the screaming children to the beach huts. There was a little bar and I sat down on one of the stools. It didn't take long for the surfers stood in the corner to notice me. I smiled, I was a free woman, I could flirt. Maybe it would help. There were three of them. One of them had blond hair that fell in short curls around his face. Another had black hair and a long sweeping side fringe. The last one has brown hair, the colour of chocolate. I smiled again catching the blond's gaze. They walked over. "Hi," the brown haired one said. "I'm Zeke. This is Freddie" he pointed at the black haired boy "and that's Dom". "Hey, I'm Brett" I smiled at Zeke. He had the most amazing turquoise eyes I'd ever seen. They were the same colour as the sea. "Um, can we buy you a drink?" Freddie asked nervously. "Sure. Um, just a coke for now please". He walked to the bar. "You come here often? We've not seen you around Rumson before," Dom asked me. "No, not been here for ages. I got back home about a week ago. I board in New York" I told him. "Waverly?" he asked. "We're at St. Lucius. Jesus, you're Brett Messerschmidt!" "Oh my god, you went out with Jeremiah?" Zeke's eyes were wide with surprise. "Yeah, but we broke up. Before thanksgiving."

Freddie came back with four cokes. "Fred," Zeke said. "She's Brett _Messerschmidt_. The one Jeremiah ended it with." "You know, he's with that Elizabeth now. Rumours that she's pregnant with his kid" Dom told me. I quickly changed the conversation to surfing. I didn't really want to talk to them about Jeremiah or Elizabeth or any gossip it entailed. I could here some girls talking behind me. They were getting closer. "Ohmigod! Brett! I haven't seen you for years!" I turned around. "Teigan? Is that you." Two girls were stood behind me. "Kezia?"

I couldn't believe it, my two best friends in middle school were next to me. Teigan hadn't changed. She still had ivory white skin and wavy honey coloured hair. The only difference was she looked older. More mature. Kezia, she was so different. Her dark skin looked darker in the sun, her black hair was in two braids that went down to her hips. Her dark eyes still had the same mysterious sparkle as ever but her ears were full of piercings. She turned around and I could see a tattoo disappearing into her shorts on her back. She was just, wilder than she'd ever been before and I could tell.

"Ahem," Freddie coughed. I turned around and smiled. "Sorry. I just haven't seen these guys in so long." "Nah, don't worry about it. And don't bother introducing us Brett, I know you were about to," Kezia said. She'd always been able to tell what I was about to do. "We've seen these three everyday for the last week or so." "No, not the last week K. The last three years," Teigan corrected her. Teigan walked behind me and kissed Zeke. Damn, I'd wanted Zeke. Never mind, I guess if I wanted I could have Freddie or Dom. We carried on talking. It felt like I'd never been away. It was just like summer in eighth grade, sitting out in Wildwood. About an hour must have gone by. I'd forgotten about Sebastian completely until I heard a familiar New Jersey accent in my ear. "So," he said. "Why didn't you tell me you knew Kezia?".


	4. Chapter 4

Jersey Girl.

The birds woke me. Groggily and slowly I opened one eye after the other and took in my surroundings. The room was blue, the same colour as Jeremiah's room at St Lucius. God, why was I thinking of him after we'd split six months ago? I sprang up. Oww, my head throbbed. Instantly I began to think. Where was I? How much did I drink last night? What was I doing lying on a bed that I didn't recognise?

I looked down at the floor. A tall boy with almost jet black hair and an olive complexion was lying face down on the shag-pile rug. Realisation dawned on my and I sighed in relief. I was lying on Sebastian's bed. I looked down at myself. God, my purple Fendi maxi-dress was wrinkled, long past fashionable. As quickly as I could I slipped on my shoes, grabbed my Michael Kors bag and quietly left the house.

Out of Sebastian's house I checked my cell, it was half five in the morning. Although I knew I was outside Sebastian's house I didn't know whereabouts in Jersey I was. The paperboy across the road saw me and waved. "Um, can you tell me where I am?" I blurted out. "Sure, it's Rhine street" was the reply. Rhine street? That was only a few blocks from my tacky McMansion. "Thank you so much" I gushed and set off.

I got home at just gone six and ran straight to the shower. I walked cautiously past mom and dad's door. The lilting snores assured me they were asleep, and in Bree's room it was just the same. My sister and her fiancé Willy must have tired themselves out planning the wedding until the early hours of this morning. After my shower I curled up in my bed and drifted into a quiet sleep.

My cell woke me up at around nine. It was a text:

From: Sebastian  
To: Brett  
You left without saying goodbye. Was I really that appalling last night? I'm sure you didn't think I was bad at the time. In fact, I KNOW you didn't think I was bad. You loved it :) X

2.  
Panic ran through me. What did we do last night? All I could remember was drinking my weight in cheap red wine the same colour as my hair. I was sure I'd just crashed out on his bed, but I didn't know. I quickly replied:

From: Brett  
To: Sebastian  
What did we do last night?!

A minute later I got a reply:

From: Sebastian  
To: Brett  
Everything ;P…

A few seconds later I got another text:

From: Sebastian  
To: Brett  
Nah, joking babe. I'll come round later to explain. X

Phew, so he was joking. That was good, but he was coming over again. Since the thanksgiving break we'd seen each other around Waverly a lot more that I'd planned. I'd just wanted to hang out with Jenny and Callie, talking and trying to get over Jeremiah but Mrs Horniman still wanted me to tutor Sebastian. I mean, sometimes the tutoring sessions were fun but I really didn't want to get involved with guys in ANY way for a while. Friends or otherwise.

I went downstairs in one of Jeremiah's old football shirts I'd never really thought of giving back and some long thick socks. Surprisingly Willy was sat at the breakfast bar drinking filter coffee. He looked as rough as I felt, or at least I hoped I didn't look rough. "Morning," I said. Willy was beginning to grow on me since thanksgiving. "hey," he replied "want some coffee?" "No thanks, I'm just getting some water." "Oh okay, cool. By the way, that guy from thanksgiving, Simon?" he began "Oh, Sebastian" I corrected him. "Yeah, well he came over about three minutes ago. He's waiting for you in the living room." Shit. The whole downstairs is literally open planned. That means he's seen me in what I sleep in. Great(!) I squeaked my thanks and rushed off without my water.

"Hey, wow. You look Hot!" Sebastian called as I hurried past. "Shut up," was all I could think of as I ran up the stairs. In my room I opened my wardrobe and looked for something suitable to wear after last night. I wanted it to be sexy but not too over the top. Knowing Sebastian he'd planned something but I wasn't sure what. After some careful deliberation I chose my silky Saks blouse with the short sleeves and some military shorts I'd bought in downtown Rhinecliff of the Sunday flea market. I finished the outfit with my gladiator sandals from Loubuitton and fixed my hair and makeup.

I grabbed my bag and went down the stairs. Sebastian stood up and before I could even say hello he'd grabbed my hand and marched me straight out of the front door and lead me into his Mustang. I didn't know where I was going, but for now I didn't care.

3.  
"Sorry about that. It's just your house and that guy, they give me the creeps" Sebastian blurted when he pulled out of the drive. "It's alright."I replied. "But, where the hell are you taking me?" "Oh, not far. Just to Wildwood. I remembered you used to love going here and besides, it's about time we went somewhere other than each others houses. And before you ask, no my mom didn't kick me out for getting wasted on her wine. I left before she could." As he said this he took off his aviator sunglasses. Looking at his deep brown eyes, they looked bloodshot and tired. He caught me staring at them and I looked down at what he was wearing. Urgh, the same things as last night. But somehow, he'd managed to make them look better, sexier, smouldering almost. Wait? Did I think Sebastian Valenti looked sexy and smouldering? The same Sebastian Valenti who hadn't graduated, even with my help? I quickly pushed those thoughts to the back of my head and turned to look out of the window.

We pulled up at the beach at around quarter to ten. The journey had seemed long and tedious because we'd only engaged in small talk for about five minutes until we hit the freeway. Neither of us wanted to talk about last night it seemed. We walked in silence onto the beach where Sebastian proceeded to flop on the sand pulling me down. I tripped over his arm and fell onto him. "Oof." I exclaimed. "You're keen. A bit too keen. We haven't even kissed yet" He joked. I rolled off him and sat up, deliberately kicking him as I did so. "Ouch, no need for violence. So, do you want to know what happened last night or not?" he asked. "I won't tell you if you keeping assaulting me. Well, I suppose I wouldn't mind as much if it were sexual assault…" "Okay, I'm sorry. Just tell me what happened" I begged. "Well, not a lot really. We talked about music. You drank shit loads and I thought I'd be a gentleman and drink with you." "Because you're a real gentleman" I said with sarcasm. "If you're going to be like that I won't tell you what to did next." He retorted. "Sorry. I just need to know" I was getting edgy now.

"Well, like I said, we drank and talked about nothing for hours. Then after you're second bottle to yourself you started telling me things I know you'd never have told me sober". "Like what?" I was curious to know what I said, and it came through in my tone. "It's not as interesting as you think really. Brett, I know I shouldn't know any of this, but you told me. About Jeremiah and how that went wrong. About Kara and how that screwed up everything with Jeremiah and about Dalton that teacher. And Brett, he was a jerk, he tried it on with all the girls in my classes. Seriously, don't beat yourself up about him. Brett, you told me everything. I can't assume any details were missing".

I couldn't say anything, I was speechless. Had I really told him all that last night? All that stuff I'd only told half the story of to Jenny. No-one knew everything. But I guess I'd told Sebastian. "God, I felt so awful for you" he carried on. "You started crying and I couldn't stop you. I just held your hand and told you everything would be okay". "You did that?" I asked quietly. Memories of the past year came flooding back. Being undressed on Mr Dalton's boat. Kissing Kara at the WoW meeting in front of everyone. Kissing Kara again in her room. Jeremiah. The way Jeremiah had made me feel when he'd ended it. Last nights tears came back and I couldn't stop them. The beach went into a blur and I fell onto Sebastian's chest shaking silently. "Hey, hey. Stop crying babe. It's going to be alright. I've told you, Dalton was a jerk. And as for Jeremiah, if he ended it with you then he's a fool. And Kara and you are going to be fine. Everyone's experimented before, no-one can judge you for it. No-one". He pulled me closer into his chest.

We sat like this for a few minutes. Eventually, I lifted my head. I was staring straight into Sebastian's beautiful eyes. God, why did I keep thinking he was beautiful today? Was I just emotional? Or was something else happening? The beach had been quiet until now. People started swarming over the dunes onto the sand. Before long we were surrounded by screaming kids and frustrated parents and surfers in their wetsuits. Sebastian let go of me and went back to his car. I grabbed my mirror out of my bag and looked at myself. I thanked God I wasn't one of those people whose eyes got all swollen and puffy after crying. I put the mirror away and slipped off my shoes. A few minutes later Sebastian came back. He'd changed. He had trunks on now and no shirt. I'd never really noticed him like this before. I'd never really had, nor, wanted the chance to. His stomach was muscled and toned to perfection, his arms were gorgeous. I blinked behind my Ray Bans. I was thankful he couldn't see me. He had a body to rival Jeremiah's and that made me feel a little better about things.

He didn't stop next to me; he just dropped his towel and ran into the sea. The waves broke across his thighs and I sighed. Today was turning out a little differently than I'd expected it to. I rolled out Sebastian's towel and laid down on it, taking my blouse off. I was thankful I'd thought to put my bikini on underneath. I closed my eyes and drifted into a daydream.

"Excuse me, I hate to ask but, I think your on my towel," Sebastian was leaning over me dripping salt water onto my stomach. "Urgh, move. You're blocking my sunlight." I retorted. "No. If you get off my towel I won't be in your sunlight will I?" "Make me," I joked. "Fine." Sebastian grabbed my arm and pulled me up. Then, instead of taking his towel he wrapped his arms around me in a huge bear hug, getting me wet. "Eew, get off me!" I said. It came out muffled because my face was buried in his chest. "Say please," he sounded like one of the parents disciplining his child. "Fine, please get off me" I gave in. he let go of me and took his towel. He pulled me down again though so we were sat on the sand laughing. I was leaning on his chest like I had been earlier but this time it was different. I was happy. Suddenly I felt the urge to lean up and kiss him. I resisted this. Why should I give in? As fun as he can be, Sebastian's a jerk sometimes. Besides, I don't want to be tied up in a relationship at the moment. I stood up and put my sandals back on. "I'm just going for a walk a called as I set off".

The walk cleared my head. I walked past the screaming children to the beach huts. There was a little bar and I sat down on one of the stools. It didn't take long for the surfers stood in the corner to notice me. I smiled, I was a free woman, I could flirt. Maybe it would help. There were three of them. One of them had blond hair that fell in short curls around his face. Another had black hair and a long sweeping side fringe. The last one has brown hair, the colour of chocolate. I smiled again catching the blond's gaze. They walked over. "Hi," the brown haired one said. "I'm Zeke. This is Freddie" he pointed at the black haired boy "and that's Dom". "Hey, I'm Brett" I smiled at Zeke. He had the most amazing turquoise eyes I'd ever seen. They were the same colour as the sea. "Um, can we buy you a drink?" Freddie asked nervously. "Sure. Um, just a coke for now please". He walked to the bar. "You come here often? We've not seen you around Rumson before," Dom asked me. "No, not been here for ages. I got back home about a week ago. I board in New York" I told him. "Waverly?" he asked. "We're at St. Lucius. Jesus, you're Brett Messerschmidt!" "Oh my god, you went out with Jeremiah?" Zeke's eyes were wide with surprise. "Yeah, but we broke up. Before thanksgiving."

Freddie came back with four cokes. "Fred," Zeke said. "She's Brett _Messerschmidt_. The one Jeremiah ended it with." "You know, he's with that Elizabeth now. Rumours that she's pregnant with his kid" Dom told me. I quickly changed the conversation to surfing. I didn't really want to talk to them about Jeremiah or Elizabeth or any gossip it entailed. I could here some girls talking behind me. They were getting closer. "Ohmigod! Brett! I haven't seen you for years!" I turned around. "Teigan? Is that you." Two girls were stood behind me. "Kezia?"

I couldn't believe it, my two best friends in middle school were next to me. Teigan hadn't changed. She still had ivory white skin and wavy honey coloured hair. The only difference was she looked older. More mature. Kezia, she was so different. Her dark skin looked darker in the sun, her black hair was in two braids that went down to her hips. Her dark eyes still had the same mysterious sparkle as ever but her ears were full of piercings. She turned around and I could see a tattoo disappearing into her shorts on her back. She was just, wilder than she'd ever been before and I could tell.

"Ahem," Freddie coughed. I turned around and smiled. "Sorry. I just haven't seen these guys in so long." "Nah, don't worry about it. And don't bother introducing us Brett, I know you were about to," Kezia said. She'd always been able to tell what I was about to do. "We've seen these three everyday for the last week or so." "No, not the last week K. The last three years," Teigan corrected her. Teigan walked behind me and kissed Zeke. Damn, I'd wanted Zeke. Never mind, I guess if I wanted I could have Freddie or Dom. We carried on talking. It felt like I'd never been away. It was just like summer in eighth grade, sitting out in Wildwood. About an hour must have gone by. I'd forgotten about Sebastian completely until I heard a familiar New Jersey accent in my ear. "So," he said. "Why didn't you tell me you knew Kezia?".

4.  
"How do _you_ know her?!" I asked. "She was one of my best friends in middle school Sebastian". Than I realised, I didn't need to know. I'd heard enough about her without even knowing it was Kezia. All those times he'd been on about that girl that "broke my heart", it all made sense. Sebastian had described her perfectly, tall, long hair, glittering eyes, her wild free spirited ways. I couldn't speak, I just gasped so quietly that Sebastian was the only person that heard me. I grabbed his arm and dragged him to the other end of the bar.

"Oh my god. I didn't realise, I'm so sorry Sebastian." I sounded way too apologetic, it was weird. "Nah, babe, don't worry. I'm over her" his tone sounded convincing but I knew he wasn't over her. We both decided to join the group again and just forget this whole thing. Sebastian was welcomed quickly into the group and we carried on talking. I could see in the way he looked at Kezia that Sebastian wasn't over her. But it was clear he'd meant nothing to her. She carried on talking and batting her doe eyes at Dom. Dom had realised and he was trying to impress her.

"Brett?" I crashed back to earth. "Huh? Sorry" I apologised. "Naw, don't worry. I was just saying we gotta go but I'm having this party at mine tonight." Freddie sounded really excited when he said the word _party_, like he'd never invited a girl to one before. It was kinda cute. "Feel free to drop by. I'll email ya. See you." "Okay, bye. Um, Teigan, what time is it?" Teigan tore herself away from Zeke to answer me. "About one. Why?" I looked at her in disbelief. "One? Oh shit. I'm going to be late. Its Bree's dress fitting." I turned to Sebastian. "Can you get me to the mall for half past?" "Well, only if I'm allowed to listen to whatever I want on the way." He winked at me. I suddenly felt conscious of the fact I didn't have my stuff. Sebastian picked up on this and held up all our clothes. I smiled, grabbed my blouse and ran to his car.

He drove fast like he'd promised; I turned to look at Sebastian. He looked better than he had this morning. He obviously felt it too. He was singing along to "Born in the USA" which seemed to be his favourite song. I smiled, it was nice to see him happy _and _sober for once. Although I tried not to, I still imagined his face when Kezia had looked at him, like he was worthless. I guessed that was how I must have looked whenever someone said Jeremiah, even now. I really needed to forget about him.

"Well, it's twenty past. I guess you made it," Sebastian said as we pulled into the mall car park. "Wow, thanks so much. I'll see you later?" I asked. For once, I genuinely meant it. I wanted to see Sebastian, to make sure he got over Kezia, to help me get over Jeremiah. "Um, yeah. I might go to Freddie's party. I mean, if I feel up to it. I'm still feeling pretty shit" was his reply; I guessed he meant he was still thrown by the whole Kezia thing, not his hangover. "Okay, if you feel up to it let me know, I'll stop by before. Willy owes me so I'll get us a lift." I got out of the car and walked into the mall.

The next two hours went by in a daze. Bree's dress was awful, the store thought she wanted a dress which was totally the opposite of what she'd ordered. When they finally got the right dress it was way too big and the zipper was broken. I wasn't paying attention when they brought my dress. I was thinking. All this stuff with Sebastian and the others at the beach had confused me. Did I like Sebastian or was he just a friend?

Bree drove us all home. My mom was babbling on about how beautiful we'd both looked but I wasn't listening. At home I fell onto my bed and lay there thinking. After what felt like hours I turned on my laptop and sure enough there was an email from Freddie:

From: .edu  
To: , , .edu, .edu, ,  
Subject: Partayyy!

Message: Just to let you guys know this shindig kicks off at around 8. Bring your own alcohol if needs be, but I'm pretty sure we're covered. Swimwear is essential and if anyone leaves sober, and I mean ANYONE, be prepared to face extreme consequences. For those who have no idea where my humble abode is here:  
The Hollows  
Firth Street  
Rumson.  
Please come guys, there's going to be a hell of a lot of entertainment…;P  
F


End file.
